Jury to hear teen’s confession in mom’s brutal death

A statement Zachary Davis, 17, made to Sumner County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Don Linzy shortly after Davis’ mother was found slain in their Gannett Drive home in August 2012 will be heard by a jury, Sumner County Criminal Court Judge Dee David Gay ruled on Monday. Davis’ trial is set to begin April 13.(Photo: Josh Cross/Staff)

Two weeks after his 15th birthday, Zachary Davis was spotted by a Sumner County Sheriff’s Office deputy walking down a two-lane road roughly five miles from his home off Long Hollow Pike.

It was around 6:30 a.m., and the teen’s mother had been brutally murdered while she slept a few hours earlier. A key suspect in the August 2012 crime, the Station Camp High School student was taken into custody without incident.

What followed — an hour-long videotaped interview in which Davis confessed to the gruesome crime — was the subject of a hearing in Sumner County Criminal Court on Friday.

Defense attorney Randy Lucas argued that since the teen had neither a parent nor guardian present when he was questioned by authorities, his statement should not be allowed in court when a jury hears the case in April. Lucas also pointed to several mental health evaluations his client has had since his arrest.

Davis is charged with first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his mother, 46-year-old Melanie Davis. He’s also charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated arson for allegedly setting his house on fire while his older brother slept. The brother escaped unharmed.

Sumner County Assistant District Attorney Tara Wyllie argued that since Davis’ father died in 2007 and his mother had just been killed, there was no parent or guardian for authorities to call.

Sumner County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Don Linzy testified that authorities tried to contact relatives in Bowling Green, Ky., and that he consulted with Juvenile Court Judge Barry Brown before interviewing the teen.

Linzy said authorities read the teen his Miranda Rights twice, and that he voluntarily waived those rights.

Full confession not shown in hearing

During the interview, Davis spoke calmly in a flat, distinctly monotone voice, and was “very courteous,” Linzy added.

The first eight minutes of the interview was shown in court on Friday.

For most of the hearing, Davis, who is now 17, sat quietly and stared at a table in front of him. He only looked up to watch the video of himself.

In the video, he tells Linzy he is going into the 10th grade at Station Camp High School before he says, “I killed my mom with a sledgehammer.”

Gay said he was sensitive to pre-trial publicity and that he didn’t want the full confession shown in court on Friday.

However, several more details emerged from Linzy’s testimony — including how the teen “matter-of-factly” described striking his mother approximately 12 times.

“One particular question he didn’t want to answer was why he did it,” Linzy said.

DVD under seal until trial

With a Google map, Linzy showed Davis’ possible route on the morning of Aug. 11, 2012. Linzy said the teen changed shirts behind the Station Camp Market on Long Hollow Pike and bought a Coke at a gas station on Belvedere Drive before tossing his cell phone into a culvert. He was later found walking down Nichols Lane in Gallatin carrying a backpack and a knife, according to Linzy.

After watching the videotaped interview over the weekend, Gay ruled Monday he would allow the jury to see it when the trial begins April 13. Gay also ordered the DVD be placed under seal until the trial.

Davis was scheduled to stand trial last September, but that was put on hold after a grand jury indicted him Aug. 8 for allegedly assaulting a jail guard on July 29, his 17th birthday.

Gay ruled in January 2014 that Davis was mentally competent to stand trial following the testimony of four mental health experts who disagreed on his mental state and a diagnosis.